Martin Truex Jr. wins pole for final Cup Series start at Martinsville

In what will likely be his final NASCAR Cup Series start at the Martinsville Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag. 

The 2017 champion and three-time Martinsville winner won the pole for Sunday's race in Saturday's qualifying session. The pole run marks a Saturday sweep for Truex Jr., who also was fastest in Saturday's practice session. Truex Jr. is still seeking his first win of the 2024 season — which could be the final victory of his career — and his first win since New Hampshire in June of 2023. 

Two of Truex Jr.'s wins at Martinsville came in the track's spring race, though he did lead 464 of 500 laps at "The Paperclip" in October 2019.

Chase Elliott — who needs a win on Sunday to advance to the Championship Four — will start alongside Truex Jr. on the front row, with William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs completing the top five. Harrison Burton, Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon round out the top-10 starters.

Other notable starters for Sunday's Xfinity 500 include Joey Logano in 12th, Ryan Blaney in 14th, Christopher Bell in 16th, Kyle Busch in 23rd and Tyler Reddick in 31st. 

Short track ace Josh Berry will start 11th on Sunday, with two-time Martinsville winner Brad Keselowski starting 18th. 

Five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin — who enters Martinsville sixth in the playoff standings, 18 points below the cut line — crashed in practice on Saturday and will start last on Sunday after his team fixes the battered No. 11 car. 

The Xfinity 500 at Martinsville will go green shortly after 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, with coverage on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.